But the Dawn Has a Different Shade Now
by Destatii
Summary: “ We used to be so close together… but the dawn has a different shade now. ” [ R A N D O M ] [ O N E S H O T ]


° **But the Dawn Has a Different Shade Now** °  
_- - » O N E S H O T ::_

_**" We used to be so close together … "**_

-

The loneliness of solitude.

Such a grotesque thing to behold, yet so unnoticeable by others. It's so easy to slip away into its menacing depths and never emerge again. So easy to succumb to its coldness and feel yourself so desperate, so willing to submit. So easy to gain that desire to escape reality and drift away into the bittersweet realm of a fantasy, stimulated and designed only by the person who is currently wishing to escape the realism of actuality. There was nothing that seemed to stand in the way of it, nothing that blocked something so much as a small fraction of the pain endured because of solitude.

The window seemed so clear as I lifted my gaze to stare through it toward the beach, letting it fix on three figures in the distance. They were together again. They had met up together…

Again.

This was the sixty-eighth day of the fifth year.

I didn't understand what made me count the days, what made me pay attention as my life ticked by before my very eyes. I can't help it. By now, it has already developed into a habit. Now there is no use in trying to stop the routine. I'd sit here every morning forever now, glance out this very window, and see them there at the beach.

My fist clenched tightly at my side and a tear rolled down my cheek.

It was hard not to cry. Five years. It had been five years. This whole ordeal had even brought me to hating the word "five" as well. I held so much hatred against everything, and no one even noticed. No one probably cared. I was alone in a void of my own resentment and abhorrence with no way of escape.

It had all started when I was four, Riku six. We had been so attached, such good friends, or, to put it in a better way, we were siblings too. Then Sora came along. I disliked him, but I dealt with it for the sake of Riku's happiness. They were so happy together, it made me smile whenever we all played together. And then Kairi came. That was when my whole life crashed down.

Both Sora and Riku was attracted to her in some kind of way, and though it wasn't directly her fault, she robbed me of the contentment I had starting from the age of seven. Riku spent less and less time with me, only bothering to greet me and ruffle my hair in the mornings and evenings before bed. And that was all the contact we shared, turning me into this dark shadow of my former self.

My hesitant gaze darted back to the window, peering through again. They were getting in their boats now, paddling towards the island. I could hear their laughter even from here, all panes and doors closed. I could see their laughter as they continued paddling, cupping their hands to their mouths as they snorted with that deafening sign of mirth. The forms of their boats slowly shrank away from view, becoming nothing more than specks in the distance as seconds chimed past.

I licked my chapped lips in my anxiousness before heading toward the door, letting my pale, slender hand grasp the doorknob and turn it, pulling the door open and slipping outside. The warm rays of the sun beat down on my body, but I barely noticed. The warmth it emitted was so soothing, so pacifying.

I made my way to the beach as well, walking in nothing more than a casual saunter, hiding my emotions with ease. It had always been easy. I could hide some of my emotions so easily. No one noticed the hidden feelings in my deep aquamarine eyes. They just waved at me and shouted their greetings like nothing was wrong. I easily waved back as well, calling to them cheerfully with greetings of my own.

When I finally reached the beach, I strode past rows of boats until I reached mine. I untied it from the dock and slowly pushed it out into the water before clambering in and rowing toward the island.

Several moments of hearing only the peaceful lull of the water and the swoosh of my paddling passed serenely. When I finally reached the island, I tied my boat to the dock and climbed out onto the dock, handing my hand against my forehead as I squinted into the distance to shield myself from the blinding light.

"Hi!" chirped Selphie cheerfully from my side, darting forward to pet my hair. "Aw, you're just as cute as usual! Why don't you come here more often? I never see you much." She sighed, and her shoulders drooped slightly as she slid her hand from my hair and let it drop to her side once more.

I offered a weak smile in return. "Well, there's not that much to do out here… I just wanted to get some fresh air and take a walk," I replied, inclining my head in acknowledgement to her words. "See you later, okay, Selphie?"

The yellow sundress clad girl waved to me as I strode away, shouting, "I want a rematch for last time when you beat me!" I chuckled and began running to the other side of the island, past the door and leaping across platforms. Then something in the distance caught my attention when I ran a little too close.

A raft.

No one had ever told me about a raft. As I glanced at it in confusion, voices sounded from near it. I noticed _them_ there just then. I hadn't seen them there before.

Sora and Kairi were laughing about something, merry laughter echoing out and prickling at my ears. Sora was clutching his stomach as he laughed, lips curved into one of his wide trademark grins. Kairi was giggling delicately, holding a hand close to her mouth as she giggled into it as though to muffle the noise. Then, as I glanced a little to the other side of the raft, my breath caught and there he was. Everything seemed to freeze up, and slow at that very moment as I glanced at him.

Riku.

His silver hair fluttered lightly in the wind, as my own silvery tresses did in the passing breeze. A confident, familiar smirk was worn on his calm, collected face. Aqua orbs so similar to my own gazed with amusement at Kairi and Sora's open display of laughter. He was leaning in a relaxed position against the pole of the raft where a large cloth hung from the top.

I slipped away, the soft crunch of the sand under my footsteps seeming incredibly loud in my ears. But when I managed to dart back across the platforms and back to the door the long way, I looked back down towards them.

None of them had detected me.

'_They don't care,'_ whispered a voice in my head, sounding surprisingly soothing to me, while in reality, it was deep, booming out loudly and maliciously in my head. It was almost hypnotizing as it repeated in my head continuously.

With a sigh, I pushed the door open and left the island, heading back home. The moment I stepped through the door, I collapsed into a crumpled heap on the ground, shedding an endless cataract of tears, soaking my clothes and even the carpet, but I didn't care.

It took several hours for me to sober, as usual. Our parents were barely at home since they always had business trips, so I typically had the whole house to myself. By then, night had fallen. Wiping at my face, although the tears had all already dried, I cautiously stand up, smoothed out the folds of my clothes, opened the door, and stepped outside again.

Something called to me out here.

Sure enough, a small shadow emerged from the ground, staring curiously at me before reaching a claw forward. I stared at it, but crouched down and touched its claw. The sensation was icy cold, sending shivers through my body as though I had been completely immersed within wintry water, but…

I. Absolutely. _Loved._ It.

Reaching my arms around the little shadow, I picked it off the ground and hugged it to myself, cherishing the feeling of being wanted it gave me. In return, the little creature seemed to relish the warmth that emitted from my body, and cuddled closer. Soon enough, a flock of these creatures grouped around me, all seeming to like the warmth as well. I merely savored the _cold._

In the sea of golden, neon orbs, I saw a pair of amber ones. A man stepped close to me, bronze skin seeming to glow in the darkness, silver hair flowing around his shoulders. The shadows parted and skittered off until the only one that remained was the one I was still holding. The man smirked at me and whispered.

"Submit."

I was hypnotized by the amount of command in that single word. My eyes slowly lost their depth, and soon, I embraced the darkness around me, smiling happily, not caring how it was gnawing at my heart and my soul.

And then, in the distance, there came Riku, mouth open in a yell, eyes widened in fear for _me,_ hair whipping wildly behind him. I gazed at him with emotionless eyes and crooned out the last few words he'd ever hear from me.

"_We used to be so close together… but the dawn has a different shade now."_

"Goodbye, Riku."

'_I don't need you… No one cares.'_

'_Yeah… no one cares.'_

" _**You're a Heartless now, Rio. "**_

-

--- - **_Author's Notes:_**

_This is the weirdest story I have ever written before. The inspiration just seemed to smack me over the head one day, and now I've written it. This one-shot is told from the point of view of Rio, Riku's OC sister created by me. I know it doesn't make sense if you tried to add it in with the KH events, but oh well._

- - **De_s_**_t_**at**_i**i**_ - -


End file.
